Saturday, 22 February 2014

Creaky Bamboo Trains Ride the Rails in Cambodia

Here's a fun posting in the Wall Street Journal about "norrys", homemade bamboo trains that operate on Cambodia's network of abandoned rail lines. Here's what WSJ's Jesse Pesta writes:"In Cambodia, real trains are almost as rare as bamboo trains anywhere else. The impoverished country has a network of tracks left over from French colonial days, but there are hardly any actual trains running anymore. Only one line is in service. The railway never recovered from the horrors of Khmer Rouge murder and war decades ago.For years, the transportation gap had been filled partly by the homemade trains, known as "norrys," built of bamboo, wood and sometimes old tank parts. Today, the norrys have all but disappeared. Around the northern town of Battambang, a few cater to thrill-seeking tourists, although during one visit last year there weren't many tourists, just Ms. Lim catching a ride home."